LAS VEGAS–It seems clear now that the Rounder Club plays better poker than the Batfaces. The Big Randy is out … he started off in a very comfortable position on a very comfortable table, didn\’t get any cards, then 45 minutes later was moved to a very aggressive table with lots of big stacks … and he still didn\’t get any cards. OK, maybe not all RCers are as good as all BFs, but the best Rounders are provably better than the best Batfaces — overlap not withxcluded. With a $40k win and far better backing deals, Como is (thus far) the TBR of 2006.
Meanwhile, none other than Manny Mendoza took down a $175 satellite at the Rio today. He was out-chipped 2:1 when it got down to heads-up, and unable to negotiate a chop, he reversed the chip differential and then chopped … he took two $500 chips, the other guy took one, and I\’m not sure what happend to the money ($120 cash) … I think they played for that and Manny won. Regardless, Manny will be competing for a bracelet in tomorrow\’s $1,000 event.
I also hear that Steve Carter was doing well in the main event. But no confirmation of that.
UPDATE: OK, am pretty sure Steve Carter is still alive and well — thanks Alicia, for the heads-up! — but how he\’s doing is another story. For now, we\’ll go with CardPlayer, which has \”James Steve Cartee\” near the chip lead, with more than 210,000 chips.
According to PokerPages, there\’s also a \”Jame Cartee,\” who curiously has only 21,000 chips.
Your powers of analysis never cease to amaze me Dan. Oh, well, to each his own.
Oh, in a completely unrelated note, where the fuck is my story? I will call the Rio in 50 minutes and tell them you are no longer working for us and to revoke your press pass if it’s not in my inbox by 10 a.m. CST.
And back to your comment, yeah, those Rounders guys are good.
Sorry, that Bellagio tourney should have an asterisk on it — Gonz didn’t play.
Can’t we all just get along?
I’m out just shy of three hours into the $1,000 event. I don’t know if it was too much Kill Phil, lack of sleep or just general donkey-ness, but I went all-in against a modest pre-flop raise with 9-9 and didn’t improve against Q-Q.
I had a blast anyway. The guys at my table were funny and charming, and I had some great hands early on, including flopping the nuts with A-K suited to knock out one of two players I sent home. I peaked at 3,600 chips from a starting total of 1,500. Read all about it at http://www.overthetop.beloblog.com, where my posts (and my colleagues running commentary about me and my poker) helped fuel a record 3,500 hits today.
Nice try, manny. And cool on the traffic.
links from pokeratidiscussion of poker seems to do that.(Perhaps the Morning News might reconsider the notion of a poker columnist?)